Popular culture tells us many things about Americans. We watch stories of made-up families and binge shows that fictionalize real-life […]
Jim Bob’s Humbug: Freaks, Fitter Families, and 19 Kids and Counting
On May 25, 2022, Joshua Duggar (34) was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and 20 years’ probation after […]
Diversity in Children’s TV for Better Children’s Mental Health
I have a vivid memory of being in kindergarten and being called Dora, the name of the titular character from […]
Run Away with Us to Virgin River. It’s Harmless Enough.
This essay contains spoilers for Virgin River. Have you ever wanted to run away from your life and go to […]
Narrative Privilege and the Power of Pose
This post contains spoilers for the full series of Pose, including the series finale. Dorian Corey began her career as […]
Justice and Agency: Why Women Love True Crime
When I was young, I was obsessed with Unsolved Mysteries. While not typically a “go-to” show for an eight-year-old, my […]
Historian Witches and Scientist Vampires: Can We Be Deborah Harkness When We Grow Up?
Historian-witches, vampire-scientists, and a world where you can get a tenure-track job at an Ivy and fancy fellowships at Oxford […]
At the Crossroads of Comfort TV and Comfort Food
When I started my PhD, a kind mentor advised me to cope with graduate school’s stresses by eating chocolate and […]
Marie Kondo and Books: Tidying Up the Misconceptions
The Netflix reality TV show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo premiered on January 1, 2019. Based on her bestselling book […]
My So-Called Life: Angela Chase, Body Image, and Teen Angst
In August 1994, ABC aired the pilot episode of My So-Called Life, and for the first time I felt that […]
